The Between Times
by Dragonmaiden Bi
Summary: As the ZBC begins to emerge on Zi, youths such as Marie and Daniel become the newest generation of Zoid pilots.
1. In the Beginning

Disclaimer: Not so far away, on the edge of the Milky Way, there was a planet called Earth. On this planet there was a girl who did not own Zoids and that would be me.  
  
This story sets place several centuries after the final defeat of the Deathsaurer by Van Flyheight and company. It occurs as the Zoid Battle Commission, ZBC, is emerging on Zi.  
  
Daniel awoke suddenly and stared at the room around him. Something had abruptly torn him from his sleep and he struggled to remember what it was. He flicked on his lamp and squinted around the room. The answer became quickly obvious, as he looked down to his little sister Marie, staring up at him with worried eyes.  
  
"What is it Marie?" he asked sleepily.  
  
"There's something outside," she whispered. Daniel struggled with the tiredness that was engulfing him. He looked toward his watch, 2:00 AM it told him.  
  
"Probably nothing Marie," he mumbled, "go back to sleep it's way to early to be up and about."  
  
"But.but Dan I heard it and I.I saw its red eyes," she whimpered fearfully.  
  
This caught Daniel's attention. Marie often got scared at night, being 7 years old, but she had yet to imagine red eyes.  
  
"Okay Marie, show me where it is and I'll go check." Daniel lifted himself out of his bed and picked up a flashlight from his nighttable. Then he quickly pulled on a pair of sandals. The ground outside was rough and stony and could easily cut the soles of your feet.  
  
He reached for his sister's hand and allowed her to lead them to her room. She pointed to her window. Dan looked outside and listened. He couldn't hear anything and didn't see anything either. He was about to turn around and tell off Marie for waking him when he heard a loud crash.  
  
"What the hell," exclaimed Daniel and he ran for the front door. Daniel walked into the pitch-black night and looked around. The darkness seemed to swallow everything. He fumbled with his flashlight and switched it on. The beam of light cut through the darkness but seemed to do very little. Daniel listened carefully and swung his flashlight around, searching.  
  
He heard another crash and ran in its direction. It seemed to be coming from the fields. Daniel ran to the back of his house and shone his flashlight into the fields. It was close to useless. But then he saw the red eyes. It had to be a zoid, but what was it doing in their fields. Those were what kept Daniel's village alive. Daniel ran toward the field and jumped over the fence. It didn't matter that he couldn't see a thing, he could jump that fence in his sleep.  
  
"Hey," Daniel yelled as he ran toward the zoid careful to walk on the paths, "Hey you're trampling our fields." Daniel continued shouting, hoping the Zoid's pilot would hear him. Suddenly the darkness was cut by a huge explosion from farther down in the fields. "Moron," screamed Daniel, "you're destroying our fields."  
  
Suddenly Daniel heard a soft snicker. He heard crashing sounds and then the Zoid was facing him, staring at him with its glowing red eyes. Daniel froze with fear and stared up at this Zoid. Terror seemed to fill his veins; this Zoid could blow a hole through him without a second thought. Daniel's flashlight shown on the Zoids and he could make out it's general shape. It looked like a rev raptor, but in the darkness it was hard to be sure.  
  
"So you think you can stop me," a deep male voice said from the Zoid, "foolish boy, didn't you know that your field was once part of the greatest battle to ever hit Zi?" Daniel's thoughts were in a furious mess. This field was part of a battle? But why was the guy shooting it up? Was he going to shoot me too? "Well," the voice continued breaking apart his thoughts, "I guess I'd better continue on my way, still leaving behind witnesses is such a liability."  
  
Daniel felt his very blood freeze at this. "Goodbye," the voice said and Daniel imagined him pressing the trigger, the last thing he saw as he screamed was a blinding bright light.  
  
Marie sat at the windowsill her entire figure tense waiting for a sign of her older brother. She could hear shouting and then there was an explosion. Then there was a long pause and then a scream and another explosion. Fear pounded in her heart. There were footsteps in the background and Marie turned.  
  
"Mommy," she screamed, "Danny's outside."  
  
"Oh my god," she heard and then there were running footsteps and the sound of a slamming door. Outside in the other houses, lights were being turned on and people were running outside. Marie just stood there, frozen and waiting. She heard shouts coming from the fields that lay behind their house. Was Danny okay?  
Marie's face pressed against the windowsill and with each exhalation the window fogged up and then with each inhalation it cleared. Suddenly Marie caught the sound of boots thumping on the dirt. She saw people running toward the doctor's house. Marie's breath caught in her throat, even at five years old she knew what that must mean? Daniel must be hurt. A few minutes later the doctor was running toward the field and the young men that came to get him were carrying an empty stretcher. She waited, terrified until there was a steady patter of footsteps as the group of villagers returned. 4 of them held the edges of a stretcher, on which lay a limp figure. The lanterns played shadows on his face but they did not hide his injuries. Marie huddled at the window and cried, praying her older brother was still alive. 


	2. The Desert of Dreams

Not so far away on the edge of the Milky Way there was a planet inhabited by humanoid lifeforms, called Earth. On this planet there was a girl who did not own Zoids. That would be me.  
  
Well Chapter 2 is up! I hope it comes it comes out good. Thanks for the review!!!!!!!  
  
Around 7 years later  
  
Marie stepped out of the door and smiled; today was a gorgeous day. The wind blew cool, a sign that fall was on its way and that soon the harvest would begin in their tiny oasis. Not much of an oasis she had to admit, but it was enough. She looked out at the fields and sighed, maybe not quite enough, the crops were stunted and small, bearing the fruits of little rain and soil that seemed to have lost it's strength in the past few years. Slowly the desert was claiming back the rich soil they had sucked dry in an effort to survive. Their aquifer was fading, the land was dying. Still it was useless to focus on the negative, what would happen would happen, and they'd manage. Somehow. Marie shook her head gently and began walking toward the mechanic shop where Danny worked. It was time for lunch and unless she reminded him he'd simply go on working until he grew too hungry and then came home and raided the fridge. There was nothing really wrong with that except that last time he had done it, he'd eaten an onion rather than waste time heating anything.  
  
Marie reached the store and swung open the door. The tinkling of a bell announced her presence. The front of the store appeared empty, but then a regular cry shot out.  
  
"I'm in back," yelled Danny.  
  
"Hey Danny, " shouted Marie as she walked into the garage.  
  
"Oh hey Marie," said Danny happily as he rolled himself out from under the car. His face and hair were streaked with grease. The black lines of dirt seemed to further accent the scar across his right cheek and the eye patch that covered his right eye. Marie had to giggle; he was utterly filthy.  
  
"It's lunch time, " said Marie, "come on, clean up, you can't touch anything that dirty."  
  
"I'll be there in a little while, I just want to finish here." Danny began rolling under the jeep again when Marie stopped him by placing her foot on top of his chest.  
  
"Uh- uh, " said Marie sharply, "I know you better than that, you're coming now."  
  
"But.but the car, it's not done," pleaded Danny.  
  
"Is there anything in there that will explode or fall to pieces if you're gone for about an hour."  
  
"Well.not really," conceded Daniel.  
  
"Then come on," said Marie lowering her foot off his chest.  
  
"Since when has a 18 year old guy needed his 14 year old sister to baby-sit him," Danny said agitatedly, but a smile was pulling at his cheeks.  
"You watch out for me, I watch out for you," she answered matter-o- factly.  
  
"Lucky for you, my looking out for you is protecting you and being there for you when you're scared at night," muttered Danny. Marie's face dropped and she turned away from him. "Oh.I'm sorry Marie, you know I didn't mean that." "Don't worry about it," she answered sharply, "come on get up, it's gonna get cold."  
  
"Be careful you're sounding like a housewife," and at the look of her face he quickly added, "just kidding, just kidding." He rolled himself out and reached for a thick staff next to him. He stood the staff on end and then pulled himself up leaning on his right leg and then floundered around trying to get his balance. "Okay," he said cheerfully, leaning on the staff, "let's go, I'm starving."  
  
Marie shook her head gently at his comment and smiled but her eyes laid on the staff. She could never get used to it. It didn't matter that Danny took it with a smile, or that he still managed to beat up a kid that bullied her. It wasn't right that he should have it, he didn't deserve to limp around for the rest of his life, leaning on a huge staff. Marie felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at Danny.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. I manage just fine," he murmured softly. Marie smiled at him and then turned back. He managed, not even a Zoid shooting at him could destroy his spirit. Still Marie had heard him scream in his sleep and she could never put it out of her mind, not even when Danny'd shaken her and yelled at her for thinking it, that it was inadvertently her fault.  
  
'If I ever find out who did this,' she thought to herself, 'he'll wish he had never been born.'  
  
Danny stepped out of the bathroom, attempting to adjust his eyepatch and balance himself at the same time. A loud thump announced to the house that he had not succeeded. Danny attempted to pull himself up before anyone noticed his embarrassing feat, but Marie came quickly.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked looking down at Daniel.  
  
"Just fine," grunted Daniel pushing himself up on two feet with the help of his staff, "just some technical difficulties." He adjusted the strap for his eyepatch and smiled. "So, where's lunch squirt?"  
  
Danny laughed to himself as Marie rolled her eyes. He might tease her to death, but he'd take care of her beyond it. Danny was following Marie into the kitchen and tapping her ankles with his staff as he walked, all under the pretense that it was accidental of course.  
  
"Come on," complained Marie, "you're going to make my ankles sore."  
  
"Sorry," answered Danny, his voice alive with mischief and then he tapped Marie's ankles again. Marie sighed to herself, god sometimes she wanted to strangle him. They were settling down for lunch, Mom and Dad had gone to talk with the mayor about something and would probably be staying there for lunch.  
  
"So how's that jeep your working on?" asked Marie right before biting into her corn."  
  
"It's a mess," answered Danny, "they rode on the breaks, the engines shot, it needed it's oil changed 10 years ago, and there's so much sand choked in there it could make its own desert."  
  
"Whose car is it?"  
  
"I think it's the mayor's, but it'll be mine once I save up the money to buy it."  
  
"You want a car with enough sand in it to make a desert?" asked Marie unbelievingly.  
  
"It'll be in good shape when I'm done with it," answered Dan defensively.  
  
"Are you going to teach me how to drive anytime soon?" asked Marie suddenly.  
  
"I am teaching you how to drive."  
  
"Yeah right, you've let me drive all of 15 minutes about 4 times."  
  
"It's not my fault that each one of those times you managed to narrowly miss objects that I wasn't aware a car was capable of hitting." Danny burst into laughter, "Zi, I wasn't aware a car could plow into a tiny sand dune, or a pebble. You found the one tree within 20 miles in the desert and managed to just barely miss it."  
  
"Well I'm not going to improve if you don't teach me." A loud knocking at the door broke apart the conversation. Daniel lifted himself up quickly and limped toward the door, eager to get away from a conversation that had the capability to put his life in danger. He swung open the door and revealed a young man to whom he quickly raised his eyebrows. The boy was around Marie's age and now sported a fading black eye, which Dan had generously supplied with a swinging kick.  
  
"Daniel," the guy said failing to hide his surprise and fear by squeaking.  
  
"Ray," answered Daniel coldly, "I though we finished this last week." "I wasn't here to mess with Marie, I swear," stuttered Ray, "the mayor sent me to call people to a meeting, um it's in half an hour, in the town center." Dan nodded firmly, and ignored the urge to laugh. "Uh, well that's pretty much it, umm bye." With that Ray was gone, running until he felt safe and then strutting like the tough guy he pretended to be. Danny closed the door and turned to Marie dropping his harsh expression for a smile.  
  
"Looks like the jerk isn't such a tough guy anymore," said Danny with a shrug. Marie smiled gently and then looked down. "Uh-uh," said Danny.  
  
"What?" asked Marie.  
  
"You are not feeling embarrassed because I beat up a guy that deserves to have his face permanently planted in the dirt."  
  
"Why'd you beat him up?" asked Marie, "I mean all he did was tease?"  
  
"He did more than tease, that guy spoke utter trash to you, and you are way better than that. Plus, he openly admitted it to me, teased me because of the staff, and pretty much asked me to plant him into the dirt by suggesting that I'd trip and knock myself out fighting him, and all and all had it coming. He's just lucky all I gave him was a black eye."  
  
"I almost feel sorry for them, they don't have the slightest clue what they're getting into."  
  
"They always underestimate the cripple."  
  
"Danny!"  
  
"Kidding, kidding."  
  
"Not funny," grumbled Marie.  
  
Danny settled himself back down and continued eating. Marie was getting better at cooking; their mother had decided that now at fourteen Marie should know how to cook. Danny still wasn't sure how Marie felt about it. He was just glad they didn't think he should learn how to cook, it had been insinuated for a while a couple years ago.  
  
"You're getting better at this cooking stuff," commented Danny.  
  
"Housewife training," grumbled Marie. Well there was his answer, better change the subject.  
  
"What do you think the meetings going to be about?" asked Danny. Marie obviously noticed his quick topic change and acknowledged it with the raising of an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't know, probably something to do with how poor the fields have been lately. Desert's taking over," she answered.  
  
"God I hope it's not like the last meeting. That was an hour waste of time while the mayor and Luke argued about whether it was due to the weather or the aquifer."  
  
"Ah yes the meeting you chose to spice up at the end by yelling 'Shut up!' at the top of your lungs."  
  
"Come on Marie, after an hour of listening to that crap everyone else wanted to say the same thing."  
  
"True enough."  
  
It seemed like everyone in the village was at the town center. Not that that was such a big deal Marie had to admit. All in all only about 150 people lived in the village. She and Danny were sitting on the hastily set chairs that seemed to resemble a whirlpool more than rows. The mayor was busy fiddling with a microphone trying to get it at that perfect volume where he was perfectly audible, but there was no ear shattering feed back. Marie could feel Danny fidgeting next to her, tapping his staff up and down.  
  
"Stop fidgeting so much Daniel," Marie heard her mother hiss. She turned to look at her mother and father sitting next to Dan. They seemed tense; that was odd. Their parents were rarely that tense and Marie had never seen the mayor fiddle with the microphone that long.  
  
"Hurry up," she heard Dan grumble under his breath. Marie prayed Danny wouldn't have another outburst, she wasn't sure that her parent's nerves at the present moment could handle it. Still, the constant tap tap testing one two three four was driving even her steady nerves a little haywire. Finally the mayor cleared his throat in the microphone symbolizing that his speech was starting and the town center fell silent.  
  
"I'm sure many of you people are wondering why I called this meeting," he began.  
  
"No," whispered Danny sarcastically. Marie elbowed him and kept watching the mayor.  
  
"I've been mayor of this town for the past 8 years and you don't need me to tell you that we've experienced our great deal of hardship. From poor harvests to an attack."  
  
Marie stiffened and she could feel Dan doing the same next to her. Did he have to bring that up? "This year things are getting worse. Our oasis is drying up, and we are going to pull in a very poor yield this year. Still we have a plan to try to save our community." Marie perked up at this; she'd be willing to do anything to help her village. She glanced at Danny; he was staring at the floor. The mayor continued, "We've discovered that the aquifer that we have used to water our fields is running dry, however deeper below the ground is another aquifer. By building a deeper well we could supply water for our village."  
  
"Can we afford that?" a voice called out. It sounded like Luke, he always argued with the mayor at meetings.  
  
"No," answered Mayor Donivan, "that's where our plan comes in." There were murmurs around the crowd and Marie turned to Danny, who shrugged his shoulders and continued being mesmerized by the floor. The mayor cleared his throat and fiddled his hands. Marie noticed that they were rough hands, scarred and callused from working the fields all his life. The hands of every adult here in their village.  
  
"Many of you know that a Zoid Battle Commission is beginning to emerge here in Zi." With that everyone stared up at the mayor. "They are forming a sort of battle association for zoid pilots to fight and from the battles they win gain winnings. There will be regulations and teams and placings, giving zoid battles structure and cut back on accidents." Here the mayor's voice broke and Marie saw the brief swish of his eyes in their direction.  
  
'It was a good idea,' she thought to herself, 'give them something to fight for so they don't attack innocents.' Still what did that have to do with their village? Other people seemed to be going along her train of thoughts.  
  
"Okay, that's great and all, but what's that got to do with digging a well?" a voice yelled; it sounded like Luke again. The only other person that yelled like that at meetings was Danny and that was only after Luke and Mayor Donivan had worn his nerves to a thread.  
  
"We want to give some of our money to a few of our youth so they can go become Zoid pilots and with their winnings support our village," burst out the mayor, his words coming out quickly and fearfully. There was utter silence, if a pin had dropped it would have deafened the village.  
  
The mayor started talking again, "We would supply them with money to purchase a Zoid, supplies, and to register, the rest is up to them. A portion of their winning would return to the village to support us through the year and to help pay for the new irrigation." There he faltered, but then started again.  
  
"It isn't a perfect plan, and it's not guaranteed to succeed, but it's our only hope," he paused as if waiting for some sort of response and then continued softly, "we'll need some volunteers."  
Marie looked around the town. Her eyes went to every one of the boys who had at one point or another wanted to be a Zoid pilot. There was Evan, who had wanted to be a Zoid pilot ever since he'd seen one in a magazine when he was three, staring at the floor as if it was all that mattered in the world. All these boys staring at the ground or the air, anywhere but at the mayor. Every one of those boys had either wanted to be a Zoid pilot or wanted to get out of this town. Why wasn't anyone volunteering, this was the chance of a lifetime! The only person in this entire town with an excuse was Danny. If she'd been given that chance she'd grab it in and instant. Then it suddenly hit Marie; she was being given this chance!  
  
Suddenly everything seemed different. Could she really do this? Have the entire town counting on her for her survival? Could she even pilot a Zoid? She was going to be a housewife. With those thoughts everything slipped into place. She was not going to be a housewife! She, Marie, was worth so much more than that. She could succeed; she could save her village. The doubts crept back into her mind, a poisonous viper slowly uncurling.  
  
'Can you really?' they seemed to whisper 'You? Who relies on her crippled brother to defend her?'  
  
'Yes' she reassured herself 'I can be stronger! I will succeed! I will be a Zoid pilot and a good one at that!'  
  
'Do you really want to do this?' the doubts whispered again.  
  
Of course she wanted to do this. She would do anything for her village and she had played with Zoid toys just as much as Danny, at least before the attack. This would be an adventure, a real life. Escape from the horror of being a second best housewife. She wanted more than that in her life. She could do so much more?  
  
Then came the most painful question of all 'Are you really willing to do this to Danny?'  
  
Guilt encroached upon her. Could she really go off and pilot a Zoid after that one had nearly killed Danny? Could she do this to him? She turned to him, his eyes still staring at the ground and bit her lip. Then she turned back to the front.  
  
'I'm sorry Danny' she thought to herself.  
  
The path itself may not be as arduous as the first step. For Marie rising from that seat was the most difficult feat she had ever performed in her life. She could feel the eyes rising to her. She couldn't bear to look to her right at Danny and her parents. I'm sorry she repeated as a constant cadence in her thoughts. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry.' Then she stared up at the mayor, noticing his eyes widening with surprise. She felt her body trembling; her voice wasn't going to work. She gathered her strength and opened her mouth.  
"I'll go," she said her squeaking voice seemingly deafening against the silence. I'm sorry Daniel she thought one last time before she gave up her guilt and chose instead to gather her strength.  
  
"I'll go become a Zoid pilot," she said, louder and with more strength. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and tried not to let it jangle her nerves. Not to let their stares force her back down.  
  
"Uhh.does anyone else wish to volunteer," the mayor said, clearly stunned, "to uhh go along with Marie." Marie resisted the urge to stare around the town center and stayed staring at the front.  
  
Then a voice from her left said almost nonchalantly, "I guess I'm coming along too." Marie was floored.it couldn't be.there was absolutely no way. Marie hesitantly turned to her right, sure that she was wrong. But there he was, leaning against his staff, Danny. Marie turned to him and he smiled gently.  
  
"You don't have to this," she whispered softly.  
  
"Come on," he answered playfully, "you can't drive, you can't fix your Zoid, and your gonna need me to take care of you out there."  
  
"I'll be fine," she answered more strongly, "you don't have to."  
  
"Yeah I do," he answered his voice softer and more serious now, "You watch out for me and I watch out for you, remember?" 


	3. Modern Transporter of the Wasteland

_Sorry about not updating in ages. I kept thinking I was going to work on this chapter, and then procrastinating, and then typing a couple sentences. It's not completely done but it works. Hope you enjoy. Thanks so much for the reviews. I was extremely happy. I know it's a little illogical sometimes but I'm having fun with it._

_Disclaimer: On the far corner of the Milky Way there was a planet inhabited by carbon based life forms. On this planet there was a girl who did not own Zoids. That would be me._

The jeep vibrated steadily as it raced across the seemingly endless empty landscape. The ground was so dry it had cracked, and the sand blew around, constantly hitting the windshield. The windows were rolled down to let in cool air, but it had its price. The wind not only blew in cool air but sand as well.

Danny tapped his hand against the steering wheel as he pressed his foot against the pedal. There was a highway somewhere around here, but so few people drove around this area that it had been covered in sand. If he continued driving east he'd eventually find a town and they could see if they sold Zoids there. Sooner or later they would have to hit civilization, or at least he hoped so. After a week of driving in this wasteland he would be a happy man if he never saw sand again. Sure that was impossible, considering Zi was practically a desert world, but a man could dream, right.

"Danny," Marie called, "I think I spy is pretty much a dead game. I've been looking around for half and hour and I still haven't spied anything."

"You can't give up so easily," Danny answered, "here look I'll go. I spy a...ummm...I spy...okay I see where the issue is, but hey...there I spy something..."

"Is it sand?" Marie asked clearly bored.

"No."

"A pebble."

"No."

"Are you hallucinating?"

"I hope not, actually I spied a crack in the ground."

"Hey we haven't done that one yet!" said Marie with the desperate enthusiasm of someone clearly bored out of his or her minds, "I can't believe I didn't think of that, especially after I spied sand in about three different languages!"

"Okay you're right, I spy is a dead game," answered Danny.

"Can we listen to the radio?" asked Marie.

"I doubt there are any stations, and we need to conserve gas."

"Let's sing!"

"Okay pick a song."

"I am a transporter of the wasteland," Marie began to sing, her voice a high soprano. Danny began tapping the steering wheel on beat to the song. Marie turned to him, "Join in Dan," she urged.

"That song is ancient, literally."

"So it has a nice tune, are you going to sing or not?"

"Fine," and Dan joined in, his voice a decent tenor. They sang the song for about 15 minutes before they both lost interest and continued staring out into the empty wasteland. The trip had given Daniel some time to think and he had found that two questions had nagged him throughout the entire trip. Why did Marie volunteer and was he going to be able to do this? Why he had gone wasn't an issue. He knew exactly why he had gone, for Marie, and also for himself, but could he handle this? Just the thought of seeing a Zoid again made him nervous, something he would never admit. But why had Marie chosen to volunteer?

"Hey Marie," he asked striving to keep an easygoing sort of attitude, "I never asked, but why'd you decide to volunteer?" He peeked a quick glance at her and noticed that she looked almost guilty. She sat quietly and he was about to speak again when she suddenly spoke up.

"I'm not exactly sure," she mumbled, "I guess part of it was the fact that," she stopped and then began stronger, "that I didn't want to be just a housewife, in a small town, living till the end of my days cooking and farming. I wanted to do more than that, and they handed me this opportunity to not only do more, but to be, well, a hero."

Danny nodded softly. She had a point there, but still he kind of wished she hadn't volunteered.

Marie spoke up again her voice barely a whisper; "I'm sorry Danny."

"What about?" Danny asked, rather confused.

"This whole thing. Me, choosing to be a Zoid pilot...and you coming along...and just everything."

"Marie, you know what's your problem?" Danny asked suddenly. Marie stared at him, stunned.

"What?" she asked meekly. Danny smiled at her warmly.

"That you always feel guilty over things you shouldn't. Okay so I wouldn't have minded you deciding that you would rather stay back home, but that was your decision. Just as it was my decision to come along. You feel guilty for a lot of stuff you shouldn't..."

"I always make you come to my rescue," Marie cut in, "and then you end up hurt." Danny slammed the brakes hard and brought the car to a stop.

He turned to Marie now angry. Why did she always have to blame herself? "Look Marie," he yelled, "What happened 5 years ago was not your fault. Some crazy idiot...well," Danny felt himself breaking down, "well he shot me...okay? His fault, not yours." Danny turned away as he felt his eyes beginning to water, "look if you want to be a Zoid pilot don't let anything stop you, especially not this guilt trip your putting yourself on. I'm coming along for two reasons, I'm taking care of you, and _your_ not the only one who wants to get out of a little town and have an adventure." Danny reached for the keys and turned off the car; he couldn't afford to waste the gas.

He turned to Marie again; she was staring out the window, probably crying.

"You want to be a Zoid pilot?" he asked softly.

"Yes." Marie answered even softer.

"Well I guess your one of the lucky ones that get their own mechanic for free." Marie turned and smiled at him reaching out and giving him a hug. Danny hugged her back and then shrugged. "Okay enough love, lets find civilization before we go nutts."

"Sounds good," answered Marie.

Finding civilization before they went nutts had been a good plan, thought Marie to herself, too bad she had the feeling she was already verging on the brink of insanity. Although they had settled their argument nearly two hours ago they had kept a friendly yet cautionary silence. The very silence that had her playing with her fingers and cracking her knuckles to keep amused. The very silence that she was sure was slowly breaking down her sanity. Danny at least had the amusement of driving which really couldn't have been that great as he was driving in an empty desert in which all he really needed to do was press down the pedal.

A week of nonstop driving was something she never wished to do again. There was no air, no radio, no scenery, and way too much sand. Sand that seemed to find itself everywhere, even in her teeth. Marie glanced at Dan. His vacant expression seemed to have been replaced with another look. A look that she recognized from when he first looked at broken automobiles. A sort of speculative look where he seemed to be completely concentrated, just on everything at once. His hand was gripping the steering wheel, hard. Marie looked about the car and didn't notice anything peculiar.

"Hey Danny," she asked, "what's up?" He didn't answer for a second and then spoke up.

"Probably nothing," he answered, but Marie noticed him easing up on the accelerator and felt the car slowing down.

"So why the look?" she tried again.

"The vibrations from the car felt a little funny...I wanted to see if I could feel anything else, or notice anything else." Marie glanced at the dashboard; the gas arrow seemed to be very close to the E.

"Think it might have anything to do with the fact that we're almost out of gas?" she asked. Danny was an incredible mechanic, but since he rarely looked at the dashboard, you really didn't have to go by speed limits in the village, he always missed when his truck was low on gas. Danny glanced at the dashboard in a sort of quick furtive way.

"Yeah you're probably right, "he said with an embarrassed smile, "I'm gonna stop and refill, but something still feels wrong and I want to check it out."

Danny brought the car to a stop and turned it off. After maneuvering himself out he went to the front of the car and popped the hood. Without the wind blowing through the windows the car was getting very hot, very fast. Marie gave it a minute and then opened the door and walked out just in time to hear Danny yell.

"Crap!" he yelled and she heard the sound of a kick against the truck. Marie hurried to the front of the car. In the minute she had left him alone Danny was already streaked in grease.

"What's wrong?" Marie asked.

"Murphy's law's at it again," Danny yelled, "whatever can go wrong will. Damn it! This is going to take hours to fix and I'm sick of this desert. I'M SICK OF THIS DESERT!" By this point Marie was pretty sure that Danny was busy ranting and that she probably wouldn't get a straight answer from him until the car was fixed.

"I'll go get the toolbox," she said quickly and ran off to the trunk. Marie unhooked the bungie cord that was keeping their overflowing trunk closed and pulled out Danny's very large and rather heavy tool box, after a seconds thought she pulled out two water bottles. Then she opened one and drank it while leaning against the back of the car. She was waiting until Danny was done yelling and calmed down enough to fix the car properly. Years of being his sister had taught her that he was close to useless when angry.

Marie took another sip of the water and grimaced, it was hot, not exactly the most appealing of all temperatures to drink water in. She listened as Danny grumbled and kicked and finally a loud thump and series of curses which she recognized as him tripping and falling over. Then something else caught Marie's attention. A cloud of billowing sand off in the horizon. She continued watching it, as it grew larger and larger. It seemed to be coming straight in their direction.

"Hey Danny, "she finally said, "come take a look at this."

"What?" he answered grumpily, "where's my toolbox?"

"Just get over here." By now Marie could make out a sort of machine, but not much else. It seemed too large for a truck.

"Well," Danny said sarcastically as he walked next to her, "find a nice rock."

"Snap out of it, drink some water, and look over there," answered Marie, throwing him the second water bottle and pointing to the nearing cloud of sand.

"Wow, looks like we're not the only lunatics in this piece of hell." It was becoming easier to make out the shape of the machine. Marie suddenly recognized it. It was...it was a Gustav. A large white one at that. Marie gave a quick glance at Danny. His eyes were wide, and the unopened water bottle was slipping from his fingers.

"Danny?" asked Marie worriedly. She waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"It's beautiful," murmured Danny, Marie glanced back at the Gustav and smiled. Only Danny, she thought, could look at a Gustav and find it beautiful.

Danny stared in awe as the Gustav came closer and closer. He was stunned; it was such an incredible piece of machinery. Its white walls glinted in the sun and it sent dust flying out behind it. Danny watched it, and to his own personal satisfaction he found that it didn't terrify him. He was far to busy being in awe of it. It was getting closer and it seemed _that it_ was slowing down. Danny continued watching it, admiring the way it moved. If this was what a Gustav was like, a simple transportation Zoid, imagine what some of the fighting Zoids were like. Suddenly Danny was excited, terrified and ready to kill in the frustration of having driven for seven days straight, but excited none the less.

"Marie," he said suddenly.

"Yeah," she answered and he noticed that she was looking at him with intense amusement.

"You're going to have the most incredibly cared for Zoid in the history of Zi."

"Glad to hear it."

The Gustav came to a stop a short distance away from them and Marie wasn't sure whether they should be worried or not. Danny seemed to be in awe of the Gustav, so Marie wasn't sure how trustworthy his judgment would be right now. The top of the Gustav rose open revealing the large ####-pit and a lady in what appeared to be her early 20's glanced out. Marie glanced at her and then back at Danny and groaned softly. Danny's awe for the Gustav seemed to have been quickly switched to the blonde lady who was presently stepping out of it.

"What the hell are the two of you doing out here in the middle of nowhere," she asked walking toward them. The dust was settling and Marie could make out cargo attached to the back of the Gustav; this lady was a transporter. Marie elbowed Danny in the side and quickly deducted that the combination of the Gustav and the blonde lady had rendered him speechless.

Marie took a deep breath and decided to take the situation into her own hands, "I'm Marie," she managed, "and this is my brother Danny, we're trying to get to the nearest town but it would seem that something's wrong with the car." The lady looked them over; they must have been a sight, covered in sand, Danny with grease, out here in the desert.

"Name's Goldenrod," she said finally, "just your average transporter."

"Name suits you," Danny broke in. Goldenrod smiled and Marie had to admit she was pretty.

"He speaks!" Goldenrod said with a smile. Marie made out a blush through the grease stains and sand on Danny's face.

"Yeah," he muttered.

"So what's you two's story for being out here in the wasteland? I mean I'm a transporter so I've got a valid excuse, but you two..."

"Marie here's going to be a Zoid pilot," Danny answered and it was Marie's turn to blush.

"What about you?" asked Goldenrod nodding to Danny, but Marie couldn't help but notice she was frowning slightly.

"Mechanics are more up my alley." Goldenrod nodded but she had turned and was staring at Marie intently.

"You ever pilot a Zoid?" she asked Marie.

"No," Marie answered shyly.

"You ever drive a car?"

"A couple times."

"Different question, you ever even seen a Zoid before my Gustav?"

"Yes," Marie asked but her voice harsh now. She remembered the red eyes, and she could help but glance at Danny. Goldenrod smiled.

"I like you kid," she said, "you aren't as shy and weak as you seem. I think you'll do okay," tapping her forehead she continued, "I've got a six sense for these things." Marie smiled back at her. Maybe she was merely patronizing her, but even this lukewarm support was better than nothing was.

"So you guys heading to anywhere in particular?"

"Just the nearest town," answered Danny, "we come from a town about 7 days back that way." He pointed behind them. Goldenrod frowned.

"You've missed all of five towns on the way."

"What!?" yelled Marie and Dan simultaneously.

"You guys drive in a straight line?"

"More or less," Marie answered.

"That explains it, the towns are a few miles to the left or right."

"Damn," Danny grumbled.

"Don't stress over it, it's hard to know if you don't have much experience desert traveling. Tell you what, I know a small oasis located a few miles that way." Goldenrod pointed off to what looked like a pile of rocks. "You guys can get some shade, fix the car, and I'll give you a few pointers there."

"Thank you," sighed Marie.

"No sweat. Stick the car on the back and jump into the ####-pit."

"All right," said Danny happily, and he turned quickly, lost grip on his staff, and fell over.

Danny was still embarrassed about his fall 20 minutes later as they neared the oasis Goldenrod had described. It didn't stop him from listening intently to what Goldenrod had to say though.

"I've been piloting this here Gustav for the past five years," she said proudly, "and I'm good at it too. Main thing you've got to know about Zoids is they're as much alive as they are machines."

Danny perked up at this. He'd heard something along these lines before but it had never really made sense to him.

"What's that mean?" he asked, "I mean I've heard of it before but Zoids are just machines, right?"

"Wrong," said Goldenrod pointedly, "Zoids are alive, they're mechanical life-forms and if you pilot one you learns it has a temperament and everything. And that affects the way you have to fix 'em and everything. Not many people know this, but if you modify the right spots a Zoid will fix itself, it's a little like acupuncture, you're using the Zoids energy points to help it heal. You couldn't do that on a truck, but since a Zoid's alive it works."

"Wow," said Danny, "could you teach me?"

"It's an old transporter trick," said Goldenrod thoughtfully, "I could...though I doubt you could do it, it takes a bit of a knack...still...I'll teach you...but it'll cost you."

"What do you want?" asked Danny eagerly.

"Hmm..." murmured Goldenrod, "well it's not as if you have much now. Tell you what...I'll teach you the trick, which I'm not sure you'll be able to do...and let your sister here drive around in my Gustav a little for a hundred bucks. Oh and if you promise to advertise for me at any small towns you see, that need some way of transporting goods."

"Sure," said Danny and then turning back to Marie, who was laying down in the back seat, "that work for you Marie?"

"Sounds good," answered Marie, "but aren't you like stationed around here. Why would you need us to advertise for you?"

"Kid I'm stationed where there's work," Goldenrod said with a laugh, and then she grew more sober, "Transporters are dying out, kid. There's not as much of a need for 'em any more. The wars over and with all the Whale kings around and Zoid pilots with no real use, we're just not needed. I don't know what I'm gonna do the day I can't find a job...start up a store or something."

"I'm sorry," said Marie softly and Danny nodded in agreement.

"Ah don't sweat it, I'll manage for a while yet. Plus I've got a few extra businesses that'll keep me going yet. Selling Zoid parts should keep me going, especially now that we're getting the ZBC. Times are changing my friends and you've got to keep moving or die out."

Daniel looked out the window at the desert landscape. Was that what they were doing? Him and Marie. Keeping on moving so they wouldn't die out.

"Just be careful what you go to," he said softly. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Goldenrod turning to look at him. What did she think of him, with his staff and his eye patch and the scar across his cheek? What did anyone think of him? No one out there knew his story. Was that to be a blessing or a curse? Ah well he'd never let it slow him down before, no reason to start now.

Marie shivered at Danny's words and she noticed Goldenrod's look at Danny. Marie looked too, and smiled. Danny might be crippled but the staff and the eye patch made him look tough, and a little dangerous. Like a...

"You know Danny with the patch and the scar and stuff you look kind of like a bandit or a mercenary," said Goldenrod suddenly.

"What?!" answered Dan in surprise and Marie winced a little. This had the potential to go badly.

"Not in a bad sense, I mean you're obviously not. But you've got a little of the look. Nothing bad, it's kind of cool."

"Thanks," said Danny, "...I think."

"It's a good thing. You know what, forget Danny, I'm calling you Bandit." At the moment with Danny shooting angry looks at her he truly did look like a bandit.

"Doesn't it suit him Marie?" asked Goldenrod glancing over her shoulder at Marie.

"It does," Marie answered and then to Dan, "would you mind it as a nickname?'

"Sure just add to the 3 different variation of my name already," he answered sarcastically. But Marie knew him better, he was sitting slightly straighter and fingering his patch.

"So Bandit it is," said Goldenrod with finality. Marie just giggled at "Bandit's" expression.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Hey is that the oasis?" Marie asked pointing straight ahead. There in a crack between the rocks she could see a glint of green.

"Yep," answered Goldenrod, "five minutes and we'll be there, it's real pretty."

They reached the crack in the rocks and although it had seemed small before it was obvious that it would easily allow the Gustav through. The rocks rose out of the ground and reached for the sky. They were jagged, maybe 30 feet tall and seemed completely out of place here in the flat landscape. It seemed as if someone had blow a giant hole in the middle of the desert and these rocks were the edge.

"What is this?" whispered Marie.

"No one's really sure," answered Goldenrod, "you ever heard the story of the Death stinger?"

"Yeah," answered Marie, their grandfather had once told it to them when they we're little. Before he had died.

"Well some say this is from one of its shots, other's say it's too small. All I know is that it's a nice place for a rest. Trees grow here cause there's a water source and they're protected from the wind and the sand."

The Gustav ambled through the cracks in the rock and then down a steep side. Marie gasped. At the bottom was a pool of clear blue water surrounded by trees and brush. It soothed her soul to see green and blue after having seen nothing but sand for seven days straight.

"Oh thank god," sighed Daniel.

"Huh?" said Goldenrod.

"Sorry, I was losing my mind after so much sand. Hey Marie! Now we've got stuff to play I spy with!" Marie simply groaned.

"Well," said Goldenrod, "I'd say we take a break, eat and drink something, maybe take a dip in the water, and then I'll take Marie out while you fix the car and then I'll teach you the trick."

"Sounds good," answered Danny. Marie merely nodded and prayed that she wouldn't crash the Gustav.

Marie felt that saying she panicked when she first started up the Gustav would be an understatement. The understatement of the century at that. Her and Goldenrod sat there for at least 20 minutes with Goldenrod explained what the controls did and how to start up the Gustav. Goldenrod had her start it up a couple of times and nodded.

"Good!" exclaimed Goldenrod; "not everyone can start up a Zoid their first time. I'm actually quite surprised, you've got a knack for it, I can see it!"

Marie smiled; turning it on wasn't what she was worried about. It was driving.

"Okay," continued Goldenrod, "you've got the gist of it. Let's get driving!"

Marie started up the Gustav and promptly set it shooting across the desert at full speed. Marie panicked. It was going too fast, way too fast. She couldn't steer. Landscape was shooting across. Boring landscape, but it was moving fast. Marie's eyes were locked straight ahead. She couldn't do this. She could never drive before, what was she doing?! Marie felt about to cry. Suddenly a boulder appeared in the front window. Boulder!, her mind screamed, dodge it, or something! Marie could distantly hear Goldenrod saying something, or yelling. But there was a boulder! What did you do with a boulder! And with that a sort of sanity came to Marie. What did you do with a boulder? You dodged it. Duh! Marie took a deep breath and gently turned the controls of the Gustav. The boulder rushed aside, not even scratching the Gustav. Now to slow down the Zoid. Marie's heart was still pounding and she was positive she was hyperventilating. But her panic was subsiding. She could hear Goldenrod talking. It wasn't registering, but she could hear it. Slowly the adrenaline was releasing her panic stricken mind.

"Relax the controls!" Goldenrod was yelling, "you'll slow down. Slow down or you'll kill the bottom of my Zoid! Hell, you'll kill us!"

Marie was better now; she relaxed her controls and glanced at the dashboard. The knowledge was returning to her. Those buttons could help. Marie pressed them and then concentrated on the window again. The Gustav was slowing down, to a speed she liked. This was better though Marie, the Zoid would be better this way. Marie began feeling the Zoid try to slow her down even more. It was alive she thought with a smile, and obviously didn't like her original driving. Marie patted the dashboard and then turned the Gustav.

"Marie!" she heard someone yelling, "Marie! Come down to Zi, kid. Marie?"

"Sorry about that," Marie answered slightly shakily, "I panicked for a while." Now that she had calmed down and was more in control, this had become fun. Rather simple actually. It was so different from driving a car. It was...it was like when Danny would take her piggyback and he'd do whatever she wanted. Except the Zoid was much bigger and Danny usually ended up dropping her on the ground. She was in control, but the Zoid was so undeniably alive.

"You panicked," Goldenrod exclaimed, "I was about to have a heart attack. When you nearly hit that boulder... And I was screamin' and screamin' at you and you just weren't responding. I though you were gonna wreck my Gustav."

"I'm sorry," answered Marie and she glanced quickly at the damage display on the dashboard, "everything seems okay though."

"Everything's fine. You started off real rocky, but my god now you're driving like a pro...you're a natural Marie. I mean when you first got control you were scaring me, you had this intense look. Kind of like..."

"Like I was concentrating on everything at once?"

"Yeah, I mean after that I was awestruck. At first I was remembering how my first time in a Zoid I ran it over a cliff, and really happy there weren't any around here, but I mean after you turned round that boulder it was like you knew exactly what you were doing. You need to work on your driving technique though. It's rough, and you need to start sooner on your turns."

"Uh...thanks," said Marie.

"Don't thank me, your brother's paying me. Speaking of which, I need to give him a lesson. You're doin' great. Think you could drive us back."

"Sure!" answered Marie. With every second she was loving this more and more. "Wow" Marie sighed, "these Zoids truly are alive."

Goldenrod turned to Marie; "You can sense it?"

"Yeah, he was trying to slow me down before."

"Wow," sighed Goldenrod shaking her head, "not many people notice at first, you truly are a natural."

The drive back was much longer as Marie was going at least a third of her original speed. Goldenrod had relaxed and was giving Marie what she called "desert survival tips".

"Look for rocks," Goldenrod said, "especially mountains, that's where you usually find towns, hills work too. And ruins are great places to scavenge for parts. They're also good camp-out spots. Try to camp out near places you can hide in if there's a sandstorm or something."

"Okay," said Marie with a smile. She gently turned the Zoid to amuse herself. Poor Daniel, driving in a straight line was boring. "We've been camping out wherever it is we were a sunset."

"Well Zoids are faster than trucks, but there's plenty of rocky places to hole up in if you're actually looking. I suggest when you get the Zoid you ditch the truck. Zoids are better suited for the desert, they're faster, don't breakdown so much, and they don't need gasoline."

"That'll be a fun discussion," Marie laughed, "Danny loves that truck, he fixed it up himself."

"Bandit'll have your Zoid to fix, if he can get the hang of it."

"Yeah, I guess," Marie answered, "he's always worked with trucks though, and he was really proud of that one. Apparently it was a disaster when he got it."

"He's never worked with Zoids?" asked Goldenrod.

"Uh...no, we don't really see any back home," answered Marie nervously.

"How'd he expect to learn how to fix Zoids, with a book?"

"Well that's how he learned to fix cars. Books, a little advice, and a lot of intuition."

"Zi, you kids are the weirdest people I've ever met. You got pretty defensive though when I asked if you'd seen a Zoid. I assumed, I don't know, you'd seen them at home. Maybe a transporter came by or something."

"Uh-uh," answered Marie, "we're too small for transporters to be interested in. Luke would drive supplies over to the nearest town. Which happened to be in the complete other direction that we were going."

"So where'd you see a Zoid?" asked Goldenrod, raising her eyebrows. Marie was silent. They'd known Goldenrod for less than a day, and it was Danny's story more than it was hers. "I mean you weren't lying were you?" Goldenrod seemed to be getting angry.

"No," Marie answered softly; "no I saw one, once when I was younger."

"What kind was it?" Goldenrod asked, relaxing a little.

"It had red eyes," said Marie her voice breaking slightly.

"Are you okay?" asked Goldenrod straightening up and looking at Marie. Marie avoided her eyes.

"I'm fine," she answered. Goldenrod shrugged and looked out the window.

"I'd say about 20 more minutes till we reach my oasis, Bandit'll probably want his lesson then. I hope he's up to it."

"Danny's really good with mechanics."

"Well he's obviously pretty decent. It's not often you see someone pull over and check their engine before the car breaks down."

"That would be Dan," answered Marie with a smile.

"Why does he use the staff and the eye patch? Was he born like that?" asked Goldenrod, her voice softer. Marie again fell silent.

"No," she finally answered, "he...he was attacked by a Zoid." It was Goldenrod's turn to fall silent.

"I'm sorry," she said finally, "was that the Zoid you saw?"

"Yes," answered Marie, "I was little and it was night and...and I saw these red eyes outside my window. They scared me...a lot. So I went and got Danny. He went to check what it was...and...well he ran out when there were explosions by our field. I heard him yelling and stuff and then...then I heard an explosion and a scream. The guy in the Zoid, he...he shot Danny. I mean he was all bleeding and beaten up, and they brought him back in a stretcher. Danny said...he said the guy wanted him dead."

"Oh Marie," whispered Goldenrod and then glancing at Marie's face, "it wasn't your fault you know. You've been beating yourself up over this for years haven't you?"

"I'm fine," answered Marie.

"It's not your fault, kid. And I'd have to say the both of your are real brave to be doing what your doing, and I've already handed out more compliments today than I've done in a lifetime."

"He's always watching out for me," whispered Marie.

"And I'll bet you've always watched out for him. You're lucky, my brother disses me every chance he gets. Course I'm always more than generous when I return the favor." Marie cracked a smile. "You two'll be okay and if your brother's half as good at mechanics as you are piloting you should be in good shape."

"Thanks," said Marie.

"For what," asked Goldenrod, feigning surprise and then patting Marie on the shoulder, "I always like to go beyond the call of duty." Marie laughed at this.

"Now," continued Goldenrod, "a good trick for your hair is to put the whole thing in a couple braids, that way if you can't wash for a few days it doesn't get all nasty..."

_Well this has been chapter 3. I hope you guys enjoy it. Bye!_


End file.
